1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the rapid design of emissions component installations, and more particularly relates to installing emissions components with internal combustion engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emissions standards for combustion engines have been rapidly advancing over the past few years. Engine manufacturers have responded with a variety of technologies designed to meet the new emissions standards. The result has been a proliferation of engine controls and components which have forced installation difficulties onto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) using these engines.
A primary difficulty for OEMs is that they must integrate the engine intake and exhaust tubing with a vehicle or application. The OEM may also need to integrate tubular members that may be structural support elements of the application. Various emissions technologies alter the engine or exhaust locations for each engine, and in some circumstances require the OEM to integrate components within the intake or exhaust that the OEM would not have had to consider a few years ago. These complications force OEMs to spend time engineering and designing the tubing for each engine into each application. Further, they must communicate with the engine manufacturer and the tubing manufacturer to clarify tubing manufacturing capabilities and component requirements. The simple process of ordering a single tubing configuration can require days of communication before even a price quote can be finalized.
Another difficulty for OEMs is that new emissions technologies have secondary effects on engine operation, emissions, fuel economy, and durability. This difficulty also affects the end user of a vehicle or application. For example, a particular emissions technology may affect the oil change interval, and thereby require a truck fleet to change some operating logistics in response. In another example, a particular emissions technology may require an additive for the fuel, and this may require parts that the OEM should install at the time of manufacturing a vehicle.
Many secondary technologies exist to mitigate some of the secondary effects caused by new emissions technologies. However, the effects of new emissions technologies and the available mitigating technologies are not known by the OEM designer of the application. Further, since many of the mitigating technologies are more expensive than conventional counterparts, the original designer of the emissions technology may not recommend or include a mitigating technology for every application. Therefore, the use of mitigating technologies requires hours of research to answer questions that the OEM or end user may not even know to ask.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that provides for rapid design of emissions component installations related to internal combustion engines. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would allow the user to rapidly design and order tubing constructions. Such an apparatus, system, and method may be of further benefit if it interprets an emissions component design and recommends one or more technologies to mitigate some of the secondary effects of the emissions technology.